Voting rights have been under attack in state legislatures across the country for more than a decade and there are no signs of it letting up in 2013. Indeed 2013 could be a year that sets back voting rights more than all of the attacks of the past decade combined.

Forty-seven years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the historic Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law. But, the law is not just history; it remains critical to ensuring that every American can cast a ballot and have it counted. Even as we celebrate the VRA, unnecessary and costly new state voting laws remind us that voter suppression and intimidation tactics continue to plague our nation.